Bank of Montreal Can Has $10.26 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 150,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,967 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $10,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 59,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 60.0% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $64.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $65.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.33.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.